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Sunday, 10 June 2018

For services to chaos!

Congratulations to all those mentioned in The Queen's birthday Honours List.

Special mention should go to Mark Carne who receives a CBE. His tireless work to make the UK's train service smooth running and efficient, was reflected in his meagre £820,000 salary (5 times that of the Prime Minister).

Under Mr Carne's management, Britain's railways are now more chaotic, inefficient, and overpriced, than one could ever have imagined possible. Delays and cancellations are now the norm.

If Her Majesty is handing out gongs for failure, then put me down for a knighthood! I've worked bloody hard to earn one; even without the obscene salary.

I was reading about the chaos of a new timetable for Northern Rail? Duh, they don't have enough drivers or trains to run the new timetable. We caught the Trans Pennine Express from Newcastle to Manchester via York, run by the same company, and it was the worst UK/European train we've ever caught, with the staff service the worst, and as for first class? Well, I feel very sorry for those in economy if what we travelled in was first class. I'm afraid Maggie was a bit wrong with competition and privatisation is always good.

Carne should have declined to take it. He does himself no favours in accepting it even if there is something, somewhere within Network Rail which makes him deserving of it. It is hard to see what although I see his pledge to health and safety, that good old chestnut, is mentioned. Network Rail is partly responsible for the failure of Northern to be able to implement its new timetable.

In a practical sense; what does he need a CBE for? He has amassed a fortune, he will have a very generous pension, and he will probably find a few directorships to keep him busy. His CBE seems unimportant. Had they gone one step up, and offered a knighthood, I could understand him keeping it; but not a CBE.

I have been informed by the commuters in my family, whose journeys to and from work are disrupted every day, that the current chaos has been caused by the new timetables and staff management. Mr. Carne is not responsible for these things, he is responsible for maintenance of the tracks. Still, the whole thing is a farce.

Network Rail were partly responsible for the failure of the implementation of the new timetables. Their responses at all stages leading up to the changes were slow, off target and last minute creating part of the mess that we are now seeing.

They cannot possibly take it away from him now without undermining the Queen's authority, even if she doesn't decide who gets what. It really is a sign of the times. This country is in a very steep nose-dive.

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11 months ago

Optimistic Cro!

The difference between an optimist and a pessimist, is that the optimist enjoys himself whilst waiting for the inevitable! I AM that optimist!

This is a daily, optimistic, 'photos and comments' blog. I make no judgements (only occasionally), just notes. If you wish to comment in any way at all, please feel free. Everything and everyone is very welcome.

About Me

I was born just south of London, but for the past 45 years I've lived in S W France. I am a painter by profession, and writer by desire. Lady Magnon and I live in an ancient cottage, in a tiny village, in perfectly tranquil countryside. We have a vegetable garden called 'Haddock's' (this may crop up from time to time), a Border Collie/Black Lab' cross called Bok, a cat called Freddie, plenty of fruit trees, and a view that takes the breath away. I try to treat our planet with respect, and encourage others to do likewise (without preaching).
Contentment is a glass of red, a plate of charcuterie, and a slice of good country bread. Perfect!